


Pitter Patter

by blakefancier



Category: Captain America (2011)
Genre: Gen, Kittens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-06
Updated: 2011-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-27 00:36:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/289630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Howard Stark and a kitten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pitter Patter

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my partner-in-crime's birthday. Entropy_house, I adore you!

Howard let out a surprised yelp when something jumped into the town car after him. At first, he thought it was a rat, but then it let out a querulous meow. He blinked and focused on the dirty, bedraggled animal and it looked back at him with bright blue eyes.

“Sir,” Jarvis asked, “would you like me to remove the creature?”

He opened his mouth to say yes, because it probably had fleas and ticks and intestinal worms, but it kept looking at him, bold, unblinking. This tiny half-starved kitten staring him down, and for a moment he was reminded of--- “No, Jarvis, he’s fine.”

‘Very good, sir.” Jarvis closed the door.

The kitten hopped onto Howard’s lap and purred.

“God, you’re disgusting. Do you know how much this suit cost me? A lot and you’re ruining it with your filthy paws.”

The kitten yawned, flashing sharp teeth and a delicate pink tongue, then curled into a ball and fell asleep.

When they got home, he gave the kitten a bath, an experience he never wanted to repeat again. The bloody claw marks on his arm reminded him that he didn’t like cats and that even if he did, he didn’t have *time* for a pet.

He glared at the kitten and carefully rubbed it down with a towel: it had beautiful golden fur that was soft now that it was clean. It purred and stretched, obviously enjoying the attention and he found himself charmed. It butted its head against his fingers and he laughed.

“Don’t try to seduce me. I’m on to your tricks.” It licked his fingers with a rough tongue. “You’ll need a name, I suppose.”

It meowed.

“What about Tiger?”

It sneezed and stared up at him, looking offended.

“Furball?”

That got him a hiss.

He laughed and ran his fingers through the kitten’s fur. “God, you remind me of—“ He couldn’t go on for a moment, grief making the works stick. Then the kitten purred loudly, its whole body vibrating with it. He cleared his throat. “What about Cap?”

Cap meowed, then leapt off the counter, and rubbed against his leg. God, this was a bad idea, but on a scale of bad ideas, this was only a two.

“You hungry, Cap? I think Jarvis has some leftover fish from Friday’s dinner.”

Cap suddenly pounced on Howard’s shoe with such force that he tumbled head over feet and ended in an ungainly sprawl. He righted himself, licked a paw, then with a quick glance at Howard, made a mad dash out of the room.

Howard laughed and shook his head. “Crazy cat.”

*****

That night, Cap jumped into bed with him and curled on his chest. He gently stroked the kitten's fur until Cap purred.

"You're going to give me worms. But I suppose it isn't the worst thing I've caught from a bed partner."

Cap licked his wrist and then yawned.

"You're a tiny thing now, but you'll going to grow up to be big and strong and brave. I bet you'll even surprise yourself." He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm talking to a cat."

Cap let out a sleepy meow.

"Don't sleep on my face."

*****

Of course, Cap was never very good at listening to orders.

Luckily, Howard didn't mind.


End file.
